8. Tav FalcoBehind The Magnolia Curtain

This is an amazing record and it’s so incredibly sloppy! This record I discovered early on in university and I heard this the same time as I heard [Crypt Records compilation] Back From The Grave Vol 1 and I thought, OK, this is not synthesisers and this is not Meet The Residents, this is real rock music of a sort. I was also hearing records like The Gun Club’s Fire Of Love and records by The Cramps like Songs The Lord Taught Us and Tav Falco was there. These were records that got passed around because someone had them and I really didn’t know the originals that were on this record but this is just a beautifully sloppy record.

Tav Falco’s gone on to make some great records and he did a run with Jim Dickinson producing some that were more polished. There’s a great one called World We Knew and I really liked those albums but Behind The Magnolia Curtain‘s got such a sound it; such a vibe and such a feel. They did something that was a great inspiration to me and I found myself coming back to this record. My respect and enjoyment of this album grew as I became more familiar with the source material.

I don’t think folks give Tav Falco and the Panther Burns enough credit. The Gun Club and The Cramps get mentioned a lot, but Tav Falco was hip! This record has such a glorious messy vibe. I love the idea of chance in the recording studio; I always try to stay open to a bit of chaos and the happy accident.